Our current mudroom is a total mess. My son and husband and I each have a bunch of shoes under the bench, a bunch of jackets on pegs and a bunch of hats and mitts shoved into our cubbies. Then there is the dog's cubbie, the sports equipment that gets shoved there etc etc. Even when it's all neatly placed, it looks crowded. In the new house we decided to go with a closed in closet beside the bench and cubbies. The idea is to have just the stuff that is currently being used out in the open and tuck the rest away. We're an active family and I don't think it's necessary to hide that but if we can work at making it look a bit better I'm all for it. Another thing we did is sheild the entry from the rest of the house this time. In our current open house I can see that mess all the time. I think just having it as neat as possible and then having it out of sight will be much better.

I could be wrong, but I don't think those brackets are supporting the shelves. With no bracket in the corner, I don't believe that you can build structurally sound shelves this way. I think they are floating shelves with decorative brackets. I could be wrong. Maybe someone with actual carpentry skills can weigh in, both on how the shelves in the picture were hung and whether you can make floating shelves strong enough. I googled "floating shelve strength" and turned up a lot of stuff. Here is one link: Here is a link that might be useful: Floating shelves DIY

If you want open shelving, the sink wall might be a good spot. However, I don't like the balance with the shelves on one side of the sink and the cabinet and shelves on the other. An unsolicited suggestion about layout: I'd go with a counter-depth fridge and make it look built in to finish that side of the room...it will make all the difference!

I purchased my counters over a year ago. I had to go to a warehouse where the slabs are imported to off the ships, to find these. There were only 4 slabs left and after my bookmatch set was sent to the fabricator, & the guy there said everyone was asking about purchasing my slabs and they were told where I got them, so id be really shocked if there was more of my counter stone available. Everyone at the warehouse and fabricator said it was a very unique stone blend / design. Idk if it would be worth the time/energy to track down and then would it even be a true match...